


in another lifetime

by emilia_kaisa



Category: Ski Jumping RPF
Genre: 2020-2021 Ski Jumping Season, Angst, Drama & Romance, Fluff and Humor, Injury, M/M, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Alternating, Pining, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:21:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27675974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emilia_kaisa/pseuds/emilia_kaisa
Summary: A story about friendship and love, success and disappointment, and three men caught in a rollercoaster of the season 2020/2021.
Relationships: Ryoyu Kobayashi/Daniel-André Tande, Ryoyu Kobayashi/Naoki Nakamura
Comments: 24
Kudos: 8





	1. Ryoyu

**Author's Note:**

> Ski jumping season is back and I'm so excited, and well my brain came up with a plot I couldn't resist diving into. The plan is to update after each competition and maybe sometimes in the middle of the week, we'll see how it goes! As you can tell from the tags, I have big plans for this ride. So let's hop on this train and I hope you'll enjoy!

The hotel they're staying in everytime during competition in Wisła isn't the prettiest from the outside- an enormous building that seems too big for the town and too ugly and angular against the background of gentle hills and mountains painted with green and yellows of late autumn. But the interior is quite luxurious and beyond comfortable, Ryoyu can swear the feels better than his own, but it still doesn't bring him any closer to sleep. He's still a little bit jet-lagged, and even if he wasn't, thoughts of the two competitions would be just enough to keep him awake.

Before the season started, he knew that he wasn't exactly in the best form, not as good as in years before, but he was sure that he would do better than 27th place and two average jumps in the team event. He knows it's just the first competition in the oddest of years, so no reason to beat himself up over it, but he still feels unpleasantly let down by himself.

"I will call home, okay?" Junshiro asks, sitting down on his bed and propping pillows against the headboard, leaning against it comfortably "They should be eating breakfast now."

"Sure."

If he really wanted to sleep, he has his sleeping mask and earplugs stocked somewhere on the bottom of his suitcase. But he doesn't care anout sleeping, and he knows that it's important for Junshiro to keep with a schedule so even though he's half of a world away, he still stays close with his wife and son and is a part of their daily life as much as possible. And since there's now eight hours between them, if he calls before midnight they can have a video call around breakfast time.

Ryoyu throws the covers away and walks over to Junshiro's bed, dropping next to him just in time to the call to start. His nephew is a little cranky, his chubby face scrunched with disapproval, fists flailing in the air, so Ryoyu fills his uncle duties by making a couple of funny faces and greets his sister in law before quietly going back to his bed. He puts his shoes on and grabs a fleece jacket that has been lying on one of the chairs. He waves at Junshiro and does a short pantomime explaining that he's going out and gets a thumbs up in return.

He's definitely not going outside, the night quite chilly although not winter cold yet. The hotel is deserted, occupied only by jumpers and their teams, and he can almost hear his footsteps resonating in quiet corridors, but thick burgundy carpets are muffling the sound perfectly, so he doesn't worry he will wake anyone up. For a moment he wonders if he should check on some of his teammates, but he chases the idea immediately. It's late, and they're all probably sleeping as they should. Pushing open the door to the staircase, Ryoyu makes a mental note to send the guys that meme he has seen earlier. Probably only Naoki would laugh at that, his sense of humor matching Ryoyu's the most from all his teammates. And since Naoki had even worse competition than him, he deserves something to cheer him up.

In the team they all get each other's back, always.

He climbs to the highest floor and walks till the end of the corridor, where a big sheet of glass allows him to see flickering street lights and dark outline of the mountains, barely visible against the night sky. He contemplates the view for a moment before slowly sitting down on the floor next to a potted fig tree. For a moment he regrets not taking his phone, but then decides maybe that's for the better, and it's not like he has someone to write, he could only scroll through his social media and reread what he has already seen.

The lamp turns off quietly, and Ryoyu gasps with surprise, but then realizes that they probably work on motion detection. It's fine, and even quite more pleasant than sitting in the full light. And it's not like he plans to stay there long, just for a couple more minutes before he will get up and go back to his room, trying to catch a few hours of sleep to try and rest before the next busy day.

He's happy that they're going to Finland now. He likes it there, even though the wind can be extremally tricky there, but he thinks there might be actual snow there, and it makes him smile.

His head quickly fills with good memories of snowy hills and trees reminding him of frozen sculptures, and he almost jumps up when the light flickers on and a tall figure walks from around the corner, coming from the staircase or one of the rooms.

"Oh." Daniel stops, looking both surprised and a bit awkward, but then a familiar smile eases on his lips as he steps closer and sits down by the opposite wall "Hi."

"Hi." Ryoyu smiles back, and has a strong need to clear his throat, like everytime he's about to have a conversation in English. He likes Daniel, but he's not exactly in the mood for brain gymnastics.

Luckily, Daniel doesn't seem to be in a talkative mood, because he sends Ryoyu one more smile before resting his head against the wall and looking at the dark landscape behind the window. Ryoyu follows his gaze, and they sit in oddly comfortable silence until the light goes off and Daniel lets out a chuckle.

"That's spooky."

"A bit." Ryoyu nods, grateful for all the Halloween posts that taught him what 'spooky' meant.

They can't see much of each other, with the light gone and the night dark and cloudy, and Ryoyu thinks that Daniel might be in a mood similar to his, with the way the weekend of competing turned out for him.

And they must be reading each other's minds somehow, because Daniel turns to look at him, and Ryoyu can almost see his eyes, and he's surprised when he realizes he knows their exact color, even though he can't really name it.

"We do better in Finland, yeah?" Daniel says, breaking the silence, and Ryoyu can't help but smile.

"Deal."

"Now we should seal it." Daniel notices and Ryoyu narrows his eyes, confused.

"Seal?" he repeats, wondering what the cute animal has to do with that, and he can swear he hears Daniel biting back another chuckle.

"Make it official. Like a promise, we shake hands or something."

"Shaking hands is illegal now." Ryoyu says and this time Daniel laughs out loud, and Ryoyu is glad that his joke attempt didn't go into vain.

"Okay, we will improvise then." he announces, lifting his leg, and Ryoyu snorts, amused. He mimics what Daniel is doing and he knows they must be making quite a funny picture, two guys sealing a deal by doing some sort of a high five with their feet.

"And now we have a deal." Daniel states with a laughter still lingering in his voice, and Ryoyu nods, realizing that he's been cheered up completely and that he kind of starts feeling sleepy, finally.

"We have a deal."


	2. Daniel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter we're in Kuusamo, and since I'm trying to follow the comps we have a couple of mentions of Daniel's fall and injury, but nothing really graphic.

Daniel sways on his feet and bites back a hiss when an arrow of pain strikes his knee and climbs up his thigh, a harsh contrast to the numb throbbing he has been feeling for the whole day and that was keeping him awake till the late hours during the night before.

He discreetly shifts his weight to his left leg and it feels a tiny bit better immediately, and with head much clearer, he focuses on the ceremony again.

To be completely honest, he's pretty happy. Happy that he hasn't broken any bones or tore any ligaments, and that he finally managed to collect some points, a good couple of them. And most of all, he's just immensely happy for Halvor. He deserves it, deserves it like no one else, after sucha a hard previous season, and Daniel smiles as he watches him from the distance, heart swelling with pride. He deserves it so much, and if Daniel thinks that this actually might be one of the finest memories of this damn season, even though it's only starting.

So far this season has been a roallercoaster in every meaning of that world. The competition in Wisła was disappointing, to put it lightly, and the first contest in Kuusamo was... well, Daniel can still feel it's results very well, and he knows it can very well stay with him for the rest of the year, or longer than anyone can predict.

But now, he doesn't really care about that. He's still in one piece, he got a decent amount of points, and one of his closest friends scored his first and so deserved world cup win.

And then he turns around as the anthem ends and he sees one more reason to be glad.

Ryoyu is standing a couple of metres away, with Naoki standing right next to him, and Daniel isn't very surprised, since the two of them seem to be attached by a hip most of the time. If Daniel can recall correctly, they all have ended up next to each other, which is kind of funny, at least to him.

He catches Ryoyu's gaze and smiles, rasising his eyebrows in question although he isn't sure if the other can see it from a distance. But he gets a brief, crooked smile in return and for now it's just enough, because the ceremony is over and Daniel is distarcted by clapping as hard as he can again. He waits for Halvor to come closer so he can give him one more hug and then the whole team goes to the bus that will take him back to the hotel, for food and celebration.

They all deserve it, some truly good time.

It's the first time in a while when Daniel is the only sober one among the group of the tipsy ones, and he almost forgot how fun and entertaining it can be, although he's trying his best to keep his expression straight, not allowing himself anything except a good natured smile. He can't drink because of the painkillers he took earlier, even though he wishes he could take a shot or two of that Salmiakki Koskenkorva. But for now he's totally okay with being everyone's guardian and saving information so he could laugh at them tomorrow. And there would be much to talk about, because Marius has passed out after one celebratory shot and now is peacefully sleeping on the sofa, using Johann's jacket as a blanket, totally deaf to the heated conversation going on right above his head, when the rest of the guys is arguing animatedly about which anime on Netflix is the most worth watching.

And it's fun, truly, but there is also something a little bit off, that makes Daniel wish he could get some air right now. And since everyone seems to be in shape when they still can take care of themselves perfectly, he decides that there is nothing stopping him. 

“Guys, we have an early morning tomorrow.” he reminds them, but then thinks that in the end they can sleep through most of the journey to Nizhny Tagil. And it’s not like it’s some wild party, just a proper celebration of their friend’s success.

There is something so incerdibly calming in the winter landscape, finally. Wisła was beautiful yet still painted with green and brown of late autumn, and Kuusamo is kind of reminding him of home, with the snow drifts and trees looking more like white sculptures than something made purely by nature.

Daniel knows better than to go for a walk at such a late hour, even though the streetlights are drowning his surroundings in golden if slightly dimmed light. But it's cold and it's late, and it's not like Daniel's joints would appreciate lonely walks on the slippery surface. So he just stands there, right outside the door to their accomodations, and inhales deeply, his eyes closing for a moment, just so he can enjoy the silence of the night, something really appreciated after that intense, loud weekend.

And then, just a couple seconds later, he hears distinct cruching of the snow, someone getting closer, and for some reason he's not really surprised when the moment he opens his eyes he sees Ryoyu walking slowly towards him, his face barely visible from under a hood of his jacket and a scarf draped around his neck, yet Daniel isn't confused even for a second.

"Hi." he says easily when Ryoyu stops maybe three or four steps in front of him, eyes shining gold "Late night?"

"I was in sauna." comes a slow and muffled response, and Daniel nods.

It has always been quite amusing to him, how Ryoyu pretended not to be able to speak English at all while talking with the journalists. But during the last coule of seasons Daniel learned that he just doesn't like that much attention on him, and that retriving to the safe embrace of 'translation needed' is something he feels the most comfortable in. Which Daniel totally doesn't qurstion, although he still finds it kind of curious.

But well, at that point probably everyone knows that Ryoyu isn't exactly like everybody else.

"So, it worked." Daniel notices and Ryoyu tilts his head, gloved hand coming to grab his scarf and tugging it down to uncover his mouth "Our deal." Daniel specifies and Ryoyu's lips twitch, a corner of his mouth raising in a half-smile.

"It worked, but no perfect."

"Still better than in Poland." Daniel argues gently and Ryoyu hums, his eyes dropping down just for a second, and he's too polite to ask out loud what he's thinking, but Daniel knows exactly what he's thinking about.

"I'm good." he says shortly, and he thinks that he can see Ryoyu's shoulders relaxing a liitle "And well, we both did better than the last time."

"Yes." Ryoyu nods, although without much enthusiasm, and Daniel gets it. He knows how it feels, to be on top and then suddenly struggling to collect even a couple of points. Well, he doesn't know how it feels to be holding that Crystal Globe, but still, he thinks that all the emotions that he can see in Ryoyu's eyes are almost too familiar.

"Next time, we do even better."

"We do." Ryoyu agrees, and then something flickers in his eyes, that playful, confident spark Daniel hasn't seen in him since that time he won the Four Hills Tournament.

"Maybe we can go to sauna together next time. It is fun."

It's a casual offer, and perfectly normal, and yet Danile can’t help but feel that it’s a flirt. He found out Ryoyu was quite a character the moment they met, and the next couple of seasons just proves that he was fun, confident and quirky in the best meaning of that word. And Daniel enjoys it, these interactions, conversations stitched with jokes and a little bit of an undertone that he doesn’t mind at all, and doesn’t plan to overthink.

"It's a deal." he says "But only if we do better." he adds, and despite the overwhelming cold Daniel can feel his cheeks heating up, just a little bit, and yet it's happening.

"Then we will do better." Ryoyu decides immediately, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

And Daniel thinks that yes- maybe it is. And it feels kind of nice, to have something like that in this oddest of years. 

“How do we seal?” Ryoyu asks and Daniel hums, tilting his head in wonder.

“We agreed high fives are against every sanitary rule so…” he moves his left foot and nudges Ryoyu’s boot lightly “Sealed.”

“Yes.” Ryoyu smiles, and Daniel thinks briefly that for a second the air around him feels warmer “It is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Salmiakki Konskenkorva=drink of gods


	3. Ryoyu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nizhny Tagil!  
> This fic is my little happy corner these days, I hope you guys are enjoying reading it as much as I like writing it!

Ryoyu blinks heavily, lights of passing cars attacking his eyes harshly and he grimaces when he feels a strain in his neck, but he should have known better than to carelessly nap during a bus ride. But the day has been long and the journey was tiring, and if he doesn't want to fall asleep while sitting at the top of the hill during qualis.

He straightens up, leaning against the backrest properly and he looks around carefully, relieved to notice the stiffness of his muscles going away quickly. The bus is unusually quiet, people sitting mostly alone as they were asked to, eyes glued to their phones or closed in sleeping solidarity. Ryoyu wouldn't mind joining them again, his body still feeling warm and lazy from the slumber, but he knows they will be arriving soon and there is no point.

So instead he turns around, putting his knees on the seat as he peeks at the row behind him when he knows Naoki is sitting. But he's friend is sleeping too with his temple resting against the glass and hair falling into his eyes. His mask has slipped from his nose a little and Ryoyu grins, stretching his arm to poke him gently with his index finger.

"Wake uppp!" he signs and Naoki wakes up with a jolt, letting out a muffled sound, and when his gaze focuses on Ryoyu his eyes are a mix of sleepiness, amusement and betreyal.

"You're so rude." Naoki mumbles, leaning to the right and avoiding Ryoyu's touch, and basically ending lying down across two seats.

"I won't be carrying you to the room, you know." Ryoyu remarks and Naoki lets out a tired grumble before sitting up again slowly.

"We both know you wouldn't be able to carry me anywhere, you walking stick."

"And who's rude now?" Ryoyu remarks, and even through half of Naoki's face is covered, he can tell that his friens is smiling. But that's just one of many things Ryoyu likes about him, like the fact that he's always smiling, no matter what, even when Ryoyu can tell he doesn't really feel like it. And if sport has taught Ryoyu anything, it's not to question someone else's coping mechanism.

He's still feeling a little tired when they arrive at the hotel, and definitely in need of shower, but the freezing cold air during the ahort walk from the bus to the entrance wakes him up properly.

They spend a little time in the lobby after getting all the keyes, because the reception decided to give them two doubles and two singles, and after a short discussion they all agree that Junshiro and Dai should sleep solo- not because they are the eldest in the team, but their sleeping schedules are a bit more strict than the youngsters'. Dai likes to get to bed well before ten and Junshiro has now set four to six alarms a day for his family time.

"Taken!" Ryoyu exclaims, throwing his jacket across the room and grinning when it lands in the desired spot on the bed by the window.

"Why do you always choose the one next to the radiator?" Naoki whines, dropping on his own bed "I will be drying my socks next to your head-"

"Mhh, you can try." Ryoyu snorts, throwing himself on the mattress and putting a pillow under his head, fingers fishing out his phone from one of his pockets. He quickly takes care of connecting with the hotel's wifi and takes care of quickly messaging his parents and some of friends back home. On the other bed Naoki is unpacking his camera equipment, fussing over his precious lenses, and Ryoyu smiles to himself briefly before opening his Instagram app. He scrolls through it mindlessly until his thumb suddenly freezes as he realizes that deep inside he wishes to see something from Daniel.

The thought is maybe new, but not really unexpected. They've always been quite friendly even though not too close, but this season it feels a little different. Easier, in a way, as if that hell of a year has taken away all the restrain and distance and anxiety over language barrier. Because honestly, if they managed to somehow prepare for the season and start competing, they can damn well overcome everything else, and before flying to Europe Ryoyu decided he's done with hiding behind bad English- well, he's still saving that for press, if he finally manages to get results good enough to be a desired person to interview.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Naoki's voice breaks Ryoyu's little temporary bubble "Can I take a shower first?"

"Yeah, sure." Ryoyu nods absently "Sorry, I drifted away for a second."

"It's okay." Naoki shrugs, his usual smile wide as always but maybe a little bit softer "I won't take long, I'm dying to sleep."

"If you don't come out after fifteen minutes I will come check if you didn't drown."

Naoki laughs and shakes his head before picking his pajamas from the suitcase and walking to the bathroom. Ryoyu hums to himself quietly and rests against the pillow comfortably; he can feel sleep creeping into his body yet again, and he can't allow it until he washes off all the remains of today's travels, so he turns his eyes to his phone again in search for a couple of minutes of distraction.

He chews on his bottom lip, and then he presses on Daniel's name on the screen. There is some old conversation from March, Ryoyu can't even remember what it was about. Now, he chooses a sleeping emoji and a snowman, and he doesn't analyze it before he hits send, It takes Daniel three minutes to read it, and then after a couple of seconds, a hearteyes emoji and a moon, and Ryoyu chuckles, feeling something warm and akin to satisfaction growing inside his chest.

_Good luck_ , he writes and almost immediately receives a happy blushed face and thumbs up.

_You too!_

Feeling content, Ryoyu sets an alarm for the next morning and puts the phone away, folding his arms under his head as he waits for Naoki to leave the bathroom, his body filled with warmth and high hopes for the next couple of days.

* * *

Progress is something Ryoyu has been taught to value since he started training as just a kid. And during the years it only grew stronger, so even now, with the results still not being what he wants them to be, he can appreciate it. Twelth place yesterday, fifteenth now- feels like he's establishing himself now in the second ten, and hopefully during the next competitions he will be only moving forward. He has to believe that, if he didn't he would be on the next plane back home, and he might be a lot of things, but he isn't a quitter.

"Good job." Junshiro says, patting Ryoyu's shoulder before sitting down on a bench and reaching down to take care of his shoes.

"Thanks." Ryoyu smiles, pleased, nudging his brother with an elbow. He doesn't say the same thing back, because he knows Junshiro well enough not to congratulate him on the twenty-eight place "Keiichi is our little hero today, tho."

The guys react with enhusiastic whooping and Keiichi blushes, ducking his head a little but he's clearly quite proud of himself, as he should be. There's not going to be any big party, not with yet another early morning awaiting them and a long journey to Slovenia, although when Ryoyu catches the sight of the screen in the corner of the room, he can tell that Norwegian team is probably set up for celebration today, with the way they have swept the whole podium for themselves.

Ryoyu admires them for their form, even though he maybe feels the tiniest sting of jealousy he shoves away immediately. And then he can't really stop himself from following the result list and finding Daniel's name, just like yesterday, just like during every competition this season, and his heart sinks a little when he sees his result. They didn't really have a chance to hang out during the last couple of days, the sanitary rules being strict and a couple of scares taking place, and temperature too low for long walks outside.

And then the guys are on a move, urging him to hurry and whining about how hungry they are, and Ryoyu has no other choice but to follow, even though some of his thoughts seem to be staying behind.

* * *

"I wonder how it will be to fly in December."

Naoki isn't talking loudly, but his words resonate clearly in the quiet room.

"Planica must be so pretty now." Ryoyu hums, trying to ignore the sudden clench of his stomach at the thought of upcoming world championships. He likes Planica, because well, everyone does. There's something utterly magical about ski flying, and something so charming about that particular hill where the season usually ends, when the sky is almost always blue and the air is filled with sun and promise of rest and vacation.

For a moment Ryoyu lets himself imagine a breakthrough, him challenging that hill record he set himself, but he stops himself after a moment, knowing better than that.

"Roy?"

"Sorry, you know I'm half deaf when falling asleep." Ryoyu mutters and he thinks he hears Naoki sighing quietly, and for a moment he feels guilty, but then he hears a perfectly nice and casual 'goodnight', and silence fills the space between them again, easy and familiar.

Ryoyu is tired and sleepy, but his fingers still find the cool surface of the phone and he ducks under a blanket with it, not wanting to startle his roommate. Knowing Naoki's phone is always on mute at nights, he quickly finds a funny Pokemon meme that hopefully is going to make him smile in the morning. And then he notices a little dot signaling a new message, and he has to bite on his sleeve not to laugh out loud when he sees an adorable gif of a seal rolling in the snow. He responds with an adorable fluffy seal yawning, and then puts the phone away.

And this time, he allows himself to dream.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really excited to watch the team event in Planica tomorrow and start working on Planica chapter (chapters?) :D


	4. Naoki

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I hope you had great Christmas and now you're enjoying the last days of the year!

Since he was a child, his mom would always tell him that his smile was the best gift he could ever give her, and Naoki feels like this is somehting that has shaped his personality, in some curious, inexplicable way.

It's kind of his trademark now, and he likes it. It's good to be remembered for something as positive as having a constant smile on his lips, no matter how the situation is going. So even though this season isn't treating him too well, Naoki makes his goal to keep on smiling.

He knows he shouldn't beat himself too much over it, and to be honest, he tries his best not to. This year they all have to face difficulties and deal with lack of preparation, but at the same time, Naoki didn't enter the sport and commited to it for years to end up barely scraping any points, or not qualifying at all.

Planica welcomes them with breathtaking lanscapes and more snow he has ever seen there, and Naoki thinks he might like it better than in March. It's not always so easy to find true winter these years, and now he feels like in some kind of wonderland, with snow shimmering playfully in the sun and majestic mountains raising on the horizon, beautiful and intimidating.

"Earth to Nao!" Keiichi laughs, putting his hands on Naoki's shoulders, shaking his head gently "You dropped this." he says when Naoki turns to look at him, ready to whine about being harassed by people taller than him.

"Thanks." is all he says in the end, when he realizes his friend is just giving him his hat that must have slipped out of his pocket, because now it's covered in snow and definitely no good to go on his head.

"You're having your head in the clouds lately." Keiichi notices as they enter the hotel lobby, making sure to stop by the door to shake off some snow from their boots.

"I'm only planning how to be better than you." Naoki says wthhout missing a beat and Keiichi gaps, bringing his palm to his heart in a mockingly hurt gesture.

"I will wait for that." he says solemnly, but still with that joking glint in his eyes.

"You better watch out!"

Their team is the only one on the third floor, and Naoki waves at Keiichi before walking all the way to the end of the corridor where him and Ryoyu's room is. Once again they got roomed together, since the Satos are staying togehter and Junshiro and and Daiki are in one room- both of them not competing in world championships so the rest of the guys don't want to bother them with their tight competitive schedule.

And Naoki is happy to be with Ryoyu, because honestly, they're like best friends ever and-

Naoki opens the door to their room and the first thing he sees is Ryoyu's back as he bends forward, palms placed on the carpet until he straightens up a moment later, arms stretched above his head and muscles of his shoulders moving beneath the blue fabric of his t-shirt.

Naoki doesn't even have time to react in any way, because Ryoyu spins around to greet him with that smile of his, easy and casual.

"You're back!" he exclaims, stepping closer, and he raises his hands to press them against Naoki's freezing ears "Do you want to die?" he asks, totally serious, and Naoki scowls at him, even though his ears are kind of burning now.

"I always am." he mumbles and Ryoyu chuckles, the sound warm and familiar and totally butterflies-evoking, but Naoki pushes that thought away immediately because no, he's not doing that, he totally isn't.

Ryoyu grins, and rubs Naoki's ears for two seconds before taking a couple of steps back and resuming his stretching, and Naoki moves from one feet to another, not sure what to do unless he announces he's going to have a shower to warm up, although his blood seems to be circling pretty fast, casuing warm waves to wash over his entire body.

* * *

Naoki looks into the mirror and meets his own gaze, probably more determined than ever. Single competiton was a disappointment, but for the team even, he swears that he's going to do better. He's not going to be a weak link, and they're all going to do good. That's the plan and that's the goal, and Naoki will force each and every one of his muscles to cooperate.

It's hard to smile when you know you didn't deliver, even despite trying your absolutely very best.

Naoki smiles and gives the camera a little wave, although he knows that there is really nothing to be happy about. The first round jump was acceptable, but now, looking at the board showing him that merciless 182.5m, Naoki has to bite his tongue as he slowly walks away, counting the seconds until the world's attention will be shifted to the next athlete.

The crew is understanding and Naoki can tell they're smiling behind their masks, so Naoki smiles too, and then he finds a spot to watch the rest of the competition. And to be completely honest, he can't help that little pang of healthy jealousy that hammers through his chest as he watches the Norwegian team deliver jump after jump, even that one mishap from Johann doesn't stop them from getting the well-deserved goal. When it comes to the last jump from Halvor, the whole Japanese team is stadning together, watching with huge eyes how the guy goes against conditions and predictions and fears and seals the triuph of his team with another terrific jump.

"Wow." Ryoyu mutters quietly and Naoki whips around to look at him, and for some reason his stomach flips unpleasantly when he sees his friend with his eyes glued to the large screen showing the winning team celebrating.

"That's crazy." Keiichi says, shaking his head in awe "We gotta step up our game, right?" he adds lightly, elbowing both Yukiya and Naoki, clearly wanting to break the little silence that was trying to grow a little bit heavy, the slight disappoitnment that they didn't manage to do better settling in.

"We will." Yukiya says firmly and Ryoyu nods, finally tearing his gaze away from the transmission showing Daniel and Robert jumping around, and he looks at his teammates, and Naoki just stares at him, his heart fluttering just a little bit in anticipation what he's going to say.

"Engelberg is a good hill." he says and Naoki nods instantly, as if his body is acting on its own "We're going to do so much better."

"Heck yes." Naoki says, extending his hand "Let's cheer for that."

Ryoyu puts his gloved over his, and then Yukiya and Keiichi join, and they do a little cheer, encouraging themselves and promising each other that no matter what happens, they're on this journey together, and they get each other's back.

* * *

"Hey Roy?" Naoki blurts out before he can truly think about it and Ryoyu spins around in that weird crouching position he's in and he loses his balance, ending up falling on his butt next to the suitcase he has been trying to pack.

"Yeah?" Ryoyu asks with laughter and Naoki just has to grin, he's unable to act any other way no matter what he's feeling or thinking.

"You're not angry, right?"

"He?" Ryoyu asks, making that ridiculous confused face "About what? If that's about that last piece of bread then I'm almost over it-"

"No." Naoki shakes his head, and even though he wants to laguh, his stomach also clenches just a little bit nervously "About the team event."

Ryoyu stares at him for a moment and then he scrambles to his feet, shaking his head quickly.

"Dude." he sighs, stepping closer and ruffling Naoki's hair "Better don't ask me that ever again."

Naoki doesn't say anything, just swallows hard, and Ryoyu tugs at his hair gently, forcing him to look up and meet his gaze.

"You could ask me the same, you know."

"Come on." Naoki huffs, even though his throat clenches slightly, and he has to cough a little to get his voice back on track.

"Exactly." Ryoyu chuckles warmly, sliding his hand through Naoki's hair quickly before stepping back "You want some tea? I will fill the kettle."

"Sure." Naoki nods and Ryoyu sends him that sunny smile of his that he brightens up the entire world, even when it's dark and covered with a thick layer of snow.

Ryoyu nods and grabs the electric kettle standing on the table, going to the bathroom to fill it with water, and Naoki grabs the pillow resting next to him, biting on the corner and trying to keep everything he feels inside.

He has been doing so well so far, he can for sure keep it going. However long it takes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might have gone a little emo but my heart is full okay hah  
> Thank you so much for being here <3


	5. Daniel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I'm extremely late but I writing was quite a challenge the past couple of days ;;A;;

After Planica, Daniel was actually hoping that it was some kind of a breakthrough. He had good qualifications, decent individual competition and absolutely great team event. And it's just so nice, to have something new to put into his suitcase, a solid, physical reminder that he has managed to achieve something, especially in a year like that. It fills him with all that buzzing energy he barely remembers, and it sometimes feels like a distant dream, belonging to someone else, in another lifetime.

And even though qualifications and trainings didn’t go perfectly, when he sits on the top of the hill in the first round of Saturday competition, he feels like everything is damn possible.

And well, he learns it the hard way.

His jump is so bad all he can do after landing way too early is hang his arms down in defeat, feeling air leaving his lungs and the whole energy seeping out of his body. He knows there's no chance in hell he can advance into the second round. He lets out a deep sigh and barely has any energy to talk with the members of his team, sending him compassionate glances from over their masks. Daniel likes all of them, and he's immensely grateful for their work and support, but at the same time he can't shake off a feeling that he's disappoitning not only himself, but also them.

He changes his clothes and puts a fresh mask before heading back and finding a good spot to watch the last jumpers of the first round. His teammates are doing pretty good, but then it's Robert's turn and Daniel gasps in horror when he sees his friend ending basically at the same mark Daniel has landed a dozen or so minutes earlier. Daniel shakes his head, muttering his not very flattering opinions about the competition, the hill and the day in general. He uses the break in between the series to fetch himself a ridiculously tiny paper cup filled with black tea; he winces when he can taste the overly sour taste of the lemon extract, but he drinks it anyway before throwing the cup to the nearest bin and looks around, searching for his roommate who's also sitting the second round out.

"Tough luck today, yeah?" Robert sighs when Daniel stops next to him, and Daniel shrugs, the gesture a bit exaggerated, but with half of their faces covered, they all had to implement some changes to their range of communication.

The second round starts and Daniel focuses on watching and cheering, ignoring how much it sucks to be standing down there instead of waiting for his turn up on the top of the hill. But then he gets caught up in emotions quickly, cheering for everyone, because in the end they're just one big group of colleagues.

And well, he can't pretend that he isn't feeling just a tad more excited when he hears the announcer calling Ryoyu's name, and he doesn't dwell on it until he lands, a good distance and that smooth style that impressed Daniel a few seasons before.

It's nice to see Ryoyu doing well. Not amazing, at least not comparing to his previous successes, but Daniel thinks that he's still having a decent season.

At least he's getting points in almost every competition.

It takes a couple of minutes after his jump, but then he sees Ryoyu walking neearby, his skis resting on his shoulder, and Daniel waves at him when their eyes meet. Ryoyu shows him thumbs up and Daniel likes to imagine he's smiling under the mask, and then he walks away, and Daniel turns back to Robert just in time to catch his amused glare.

"What?" Daniel asks, raising his eyebrows, and he can swear Robert is grinning.

"Nothing."

"Oh come on!" Daniel whines, elbowing him, because they've known each other for way too long to be playing games like that "Spill it!"

Robert laughs out loud, throwing his head back in amusement before looking at Daniel again, his eyes shining.

"I've noticed these smouldering glances, you know?"

"Smouldering- what?" Daniel laughs, shaking his head "We're just, you know... getting along. While keeping respectful distance." he jokes, still not really catching what Robert is getting at, but thankfully his friend decides to drop the topic and refocus on the competition.

And Daniel is pretty happy with that, because whataver Robert has been being ridiculous with these little insinuations. But he decides not to pay attention to any of that, because first, they're always bickering, and seconds, the last ten is just about to start jumping and Daniel guides all his attention there.

Halvor wins yet again and Daniel couldn't be more proud, but at the same time he can't get rid of that uneasy, crippling feeling that sometimes history likes to repeat, that sometimes it's one season of excellence and then so much struggle, collecting the points laboriously and hoping their body and head would come back to the same place as during their best days.

Daniel flinches, annoyed with his own thoughts and projecting his own feelings on others, and he makes sure to give Halvor an extra tight hug, congratulating him for yet another impressive win. They joke around for a moment before they're all rushed to the car and go back to the hotel. The meals aren't as fun as they used to be, more quiet and a bit reserved, but it is how it is, and at least food is really good.

There's nothing much to do after dinner; in the end, tomorrow is another intense day, both qualifications and the competiton. Daniel manages to win the sprint to the bathroom, laughing at Robert's annoyed huffing, but he makes sure not to take long. He flops into his bed and crawls under the thick blanket, pleased with how soft it is.

He reaches for his phone, making sure his three alarm clocks are set and does his usual check up of social media. He leaves a couple of likes and runs briefly through his messages, and he smiles when he sees a familiar name and can't deny himself checking it out, and he chuckles at a gif of a chubby seal rolling on a flat rock only to fall down into water. He sends back an appropriate laughing emoji and then, instead of putting the phone away, his finger hovers over the keyboard and there is some odd idea forming inside his head, but then Robert is opening the door with way too much force than necessary and Daniel basically throws his phone on the nighstand and presses his face into a pillow, oddly convinced that he should hide his expression, just in case.

* * *

Next day, he fights back.

Two decent jumps, and Daniel is quite pleased with his result at the end of the day, and especially with his second jump. Halvor's second win just makes Daniel smile and shake his head with disbelief and happiness for his friend, who's clearly making the best of what seems like a season of his life.

They can't really celebrate properly; after finishing the competition and fulfilling all the duties they go back to the hotel and after a quick meal they head to their rooms to pack their stuff. It's a bit more hectic than usual, but Daniel is really grateful they have an opportunity to go home for a quick break from the season and the big world.

It goes quite quickly, at least for Daniel, because when he straightens up and stretches his arms above his head, he sees that Robert's bed is an absolute mess, blankets not visible from under piles of clothes.

"Not a word." Robert warns him, raising his finger in a threatening gesture "Unless you want to help me."

"I... oh look, someone wrote me, sorry!" Daniel exclaims, snorting at Robert's offended expression, but he actuallty got a message just a few seconds before.

_have a good trip home and christmas!_

Daniel almost writes somethong along _you too,_ but he doesn't. He always felt that special kind of sympathy for the teams outside of Europe, who commit themselves each year to spend long months far away from home, and that feeling grows stronger in Christmas time.

"I will be back in a second." he says without much thinking, typing quickly before sending Robert a sunny smile, rushing out before his friend can ask, or drag him to help with packing.

He chooses to take the stairs, which he regrets after first minute of the climb, his muscles a bit sore after the long day. But he makes it without an embarassing panting, and it's good because Ryoyu is already there, standing next to the wall-size window and looking at the beautiful Engelberg.

here used to be a little, cosy bar at the top floor of the hotel, but with everything going on there are only a couple of tables and chairs covered with grey cloth. It's quite depressing but Daniel doesn't think any of it as he walks closer, leaning against the window while smiling at Ryoyu from a respectful distance.

"Hi. You're fast." he says the first thing coming to his mind and Ryoyu snorts, looking at him with amusement twinkling in his eyes, and that look just suits him so much Daniel just has to smile.

"Took the lift."

"Smart." Daniel chuckles, and suddenly he wonders why he even offered to meet, since they could have had this conversation in texts, but Daniel can't deny that it's just nice to see him, even if half of his face isn't really visible.

"So." Ryoyu prompts, tilting his head, and Daniel catches himself wishing he could see that little smirk he's for sure sporting now, but then he's too busy feeling weirdly tongue-tied, not like him at all.

"So, what now?" Daniel blurts out, and when Ryoyu narrows his eyes with confusion, he adds "You guys are going to Oberdorf already?"

"Yes." Ryoyu nods "Like almost always."

"Cool." Daniel hums, and then he can't help it, he laughs at his own awkwardness "Uhm, sorry for dragging you all the way here."

"Why sorry?" Ryoyu asks, and Daniel hears the lilttle undertone in his voice that only makes Daniel want to grin.

"Just in case."

"Okay."

"Okay, but for real." Daniel chuckles, shaking his head again "I just wanted to wish you a great time. And good rest."

"Thank you." Ryoyu says slowly, and then he hesitates before asking "You come for four hills, yes?"

"As far as I know."

"Cool." Ryoyu hums, and then he takes a step closer and Daniel's heart does a weird little thing inside his chest, but he's too busy watching a rebelious strand of Ryoyu's hair falling on his forehead.

He knows that he's acting strange, and he can't even explain it himself, but Ryoyu doesn't seem to mind at all. Instead, he takes a step forward and raises his eyebrows as if in a challenge.

"I will see you soon." Ryoyu says, his hand coming forward just a little bit and Daniel's body acts on its own. He reaches out, taking Ryoyu's hand in something that's half a friendly shake and half friendly caress that makes Daniel's heart lurch.

"Yeah." he clears his throat, trying to ignore how nice Ryoyu's hand feels in his, warm and just a bit rough, and just a tad smaller than his "I will see you soon."

And for some reason this time it doesn't feel like a deal.

It's a promise.


	6. Ryoyu

Oberstdorf is such a nice place, and so familiar by now. The team usually spends Christmas time here, in the quiet comfort of the winter landscape, snowy fields and majestic mountains surrounding them.

It's beautiful, and unusually empty, which isn't surprising when taking into account all the circumstances. But they're used to it, to quiet towns and quiet hills, and even Ryoyu feels like he's finally getting accustomed to that. It still doesn't feel right, but it's not as jarring like at the beginning of the season. Loneliness and him were never getting along, so it's good that he's having his friends around. They've always been close, but now Ryoyu feels like the bonds between them are even tighter. It's a bummer Dai isn't with them, but he and the coaching team made a decision they all thought would be the best, and the rest of the team crosses their fingers and hope that he would join them back soon.

Ryoyu looks around the small and well-equipped store, wondering what else he should get. He knows the place would be closed tomorrow, and today the hours are shorter than usual due to Christmas Eve. They're not celebrating but it seems like a good opportunity to have some extra snacks, so after a moment he grabs a real big pack of salty sticks and some chocolate in a suspiciously colorful wrapper that somehow rings the bell. He has to squat to get it, and then he tries to straighten up and turn around at the same time, and he ends up almost crashing into a person standing right next to him.

"Sorry!" he exclaims, louder than he should, and he cringes a little at the sound of his own voice "Sorry." he adds sheepishly and the woman nods, reaching up to fix her hat, brown curls escaping from under purple wool.

"It's okay." she says, and she sounds like she's smiling, so Ryoyu relaxes seeing that he didn't startle her too much.

She has really pretty eyes in the colour of dark honey, but then Ryoyu remembers that it's rude to stare, so he nods at her and walks away, still a little embarassed about that little incident, but he forgets about it quickly, as soon as all his staff is packed and he silently curses himself for not acknowledging what restraint means.

"Next time someone else is lifting the weights." he announces as he enters the room and drops the bags on the floor dramatically.

"You drew the shortest straw." Keiichi reminds him and Ryoyu can't argue with facts, so he looks around and narrows his eyes.

"Where's Jun?"

"Kento wanted to talk with him." Yukiya says, already sticking his head into one of the bags "What is that?" he asks, taking the mysterios chocolate out, and when Ryoyu offers him only a shrug, he drops it back.

They're all sprawled in Junshiro and Ryoyu's room, since it's the biggest one, and one of the beds is the double, perfect for dramatic rolling around when they get so bored it seems there's no any interesting youtube video left.

Ryoyu picks up an apple and climbs on the bed, trying not to crash Keiichi as he moves to sit against the headboard next to Naoki, who has been unusually quiet, big headphones covering his ears and eyes glued to the screen of his phone. Ryoyu peeks over his shoulder, but doesn't manage to catch anything because Naoki screeches loudly, dropping his phone and pushing the headphones off and throwing Ryoyu an offended look.

"You almost gave me a heartattack." he complains and Ryoyu rolls his eyes before biting into the apple, the skin pleasantly crunchy.

"So don't alienate yourself like that." he says and raises his hand holding the fruit "You want a bite?"

"From this one?" Naoki asks incredulously and Ryoyu grins, always enjoying teasing him.

"I have a fresh test result if you're afraid of germs." he offers smugly and it's Naoki's turn to roll his eyes, and he snorts quietly, shaking his head.

"l'll pass." he says, grabbing his headphones again and putting them with a dramatic gesture. 

Ryoyu snorts, and after listening for a moment to Keiichi and Yukiya arguing over some show he has never heard of, he takes his phone out as well. Sometimes even when they’re all together, they all focus on their own things for a while, which is good, because they can’t demand each other’s attention all of the time. Sometimes it’s nice just to be in each other’s company.

Ryoyu scrolls through his camera roll, pleased with how they turned out and sending a couple to his family and friends back home. They always enjoy these, and he usually gets a couple of pics back so he has something to smile at. Although now, when he hits the last send, he realizes that he won’t get an answer for a couple more hours until his folks wake up, and Ryoyu surpresses a sigh. He looks through his contacts and as always his finger stops next to Daniel’s name, a genuine smile curling his lips up. It’s always fun to chat with him, even though the messages between them are mostly gifs, rebuses made of emojis and some corny jokes Ryoyu sometimes has to treat with google translate. 

Ryoyu hesitates, not wanting to bother Daniel during one of these special Christmas days, but then he decides that it’s not bothering if he’s not harassing for an immediate answer. He picks a nice photograph he took while walking to the store earlier. He adds a Santa Claus emoji and after a moment of thinking types  _ Merry Christmas _ . Satisfied, he puts the phone down and leans back against the headboard, closing his eyes and letting out a quiet sigh. He wonders if maybe he should just sleep like that, since naps are always a great idea, but then his phone vibrates and he almost jumps up, reaching for it and blinking quickly as he unlocks the screen.

Now his smile is even wider than before when he sees a picture of a real pretty Christmas tree, with a part of a blurred finger in the frame. Ryoyu chuckles quietly, and before he has a chance to at least think how he wants to react, he gets another picure, basically the same but without the fingers.

_ Santa emoji is very accurate _ Daniel writes, and Ryoyu spots a pile of boxes under the three.

_ I hope something fun is inside  _ he types, and laughs again at the gif of the big-eyed cat from Shrek he receives a second later.

“What’s so funny?” Naoki asks all of the sudden, clearly being a curious one now and Ryoyu grins at him, feeling in an exceptionally good mood.

“Nothing, just trying to get your sister to go on a date with me.” 

Naoki sputters, eyes widening wuth something that’s probably horror, and Ryoyu laughs, reaching to ruffle his hair.

“Wouldn't you want me to be your brother in law?”

Naoki looks like it’s the least appealing idea in the world, and Ryoyu decides to take mercy on him. 

“Joking, no worry.” he says, but Naoki still looks grumpy, and Ryoyu can’t stand that. He wants the bright smile back, and suddenly he realizes why he picked up that exact chocolate on a whim. He bends down and fishes it from the bag, and then pokes Naoki on the shoulder to make him turn around. 

“I have a peace offer.” he says solemnly and Naoki’s gaze drops down, and his face brightens up immediately. 

“It’s the mint one?”

“Yep!” Ryoyu announces proudly, happy with his subconciousness. Naoki seems perfectly mollified now, and he offers everyone a piece before biting into the var unceremoniously. 

Happy with that, Ryoyu glances at his phone to see a new message notification.

_ If I get only socks I might cry _

_ Socks need home too  _ Ryoyu sends back without giving it much thought, and then he cringes a little as he rereads it, not sure if he’s not crossing the line of ridiculousness. 

_ That’s cute _

Ryoyu breathes out the sigh of relief, but also doesn’t know how to possibly continue the chat anymore, so he replies with the smiling face and puts the phone screen down on the bed. He can’t stop his throughts from running to the last time he saw Daniel. It was a little bit weird but not uncomfortable at all, even though Ryoyu wasn’t exactly sure why Daniel wanted to meet, just to exchange a couple sentences and shake his hand goodbye. 

But Ryoyu was grateful for that little meeting, because to be honest he wanted to see him too. 

And well, it’s the case again.

* * *

The teams start arriving at Oberstdorf a couple days later, filling the previously quiet hallways with chatter and noise of suitcases rolling on the carpet. It’s pleasant to feel that buzz again, announcing that new competition is near, and not some regular one. Four Hills Tournament is always special, even when one knows he isn’t really capable of winning that time. But Ryoyu’s fine with it, so when he heads up with the team to get a dinner downstairs, he has only food on his mind. 

There’s much more chairs occupied than during the past days, with little flags standing on each so they don’t mix up. The atmosphere is nice, and every few moments eating is interrupted by greeting guys enetering the room and waving at them, spring in their step despite the long journeys they all had to take to get here.

And Ryoyu can’t stop himself from grinning wildly when he sees yet another group of familiar silhouettes entering the restaurant and heading to the table nearby. 

Ryoyu tries not to stare too hard, but he manages to catch Daniel’s gaze anyway. The Norwegian smiles back and reaches down to tug the hem of one pantlag up just enough to show a red sock with a hideous Christmas pattern.

Ryoyu snorts so hard a bit of his soda ends up in his nose and he chokes a little, luckily Keiichi coming to the rescue and patting him firmly in between his shoulder blades. 

“You okay?” he asks with concern and Ryoyu nods instantly, because the answer can be only one.

“Yeah. Absolutely.”


	7. Naoki

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for staying with this story <3

Naoki isn't sure if he likes it, being placed in a single room. He's used to always having someone around, someone to talk to and banter and argue about who's getting to the shower first. But since the hotel is so big and the group of jumpers and staff relatively little, it has been decided that they all should stay on their own, which was probably the wisest decision.

So Naoki respects that, but at the same time, having the whole room only to himself. And it's not even a single room, because there are two beds, one of them already serving as a wardrobe. One would think that they craved some alone time after constantly being in someone's presence for the most part of the day. But the ringing silence around him only makes him feel uneasy, and it puts him into an odd mood, so he drops on the nearest chair and puts his elbows on the table, looking around and not really feeling too comfortable. It's too quiet, and it's also kind of too cold, so he gets up and goeas to check on the heaters, just to make sure everything is alright and he's not setting himself up for a freezing night.

He stands in the middle of the room, wondering what he should do for the rest of the evening, when suddenly he grins, feeling an inspiration striking. He jumps to where his suitcase is standing and he rummages through it until on the very bottom he finds a drawing pad he has bought some time ago, and after untangling his t-shirts he also finds a packet of colorful pens. He brings everything to the table and grabs his phone, quickly preparing everything to spend some hopefully cool time with some fans.

It’s so cool to be reminded how many people actually follow the sport. Back at home things aren’t easy, with barely any people being invested in ski jumping. But there are these few countries that make the whole lot of a difference and give so much support. It’s quite fun, interacting with all the people, trying to figure out their questions and how to answer them. It’s challenging at times, fans asking the most random stuff and also testing his language knowledge. 

He’s getting so into it he almost misses Junshiro joining the transmission, and then a couple of minutes later he hears knocking to his room and before he can catch up what’s going on, there are two people walking into his room.

“Hi!” Junshiro says, and Naoki can’t see half of his face, but he can swear that his teammate is smiling slyly under the mask.

It takes him one glance to identify another guest, brown hair flowing softly around his face, and Naoki smiles, nodding at him.

“Hello!” he exclaims, and Johann waves at him as Junshiro explains that they met by the vending machine and decided to crash Naoki’s live. They chat for a moment, which is testing Naoki’s multitasking skills but it’s quite fun.

Bit then Junshiro decides that he has to go do something very important and throws Naoki an amused glance.

“Have fun!” he says in Japanese and Naoki waves him away.

He has no problems talking with people, the only thinng in the way being some vocabulary problems, but there’s ten ways to work around it, so Naoki isn’t fearing what’s going to come now.

Johann is kind enough to hold his phone for a moment, and they exchange a couple of sentences about the hotel and the weather when Naoki decides to maybe get on with some proper befriending.

“How was Christmas?” he asks and Johann nods, shrugging with one shoulder and still managing to keep the phone straight.

“It was really good to be home with my family. And I got to eat all my favourite food.”

“That’s cool.” Naoki smiles and he can tell that Johann is smiling as well “We had a cool time too, but I am sad we don’t go to Sapporo.”

“Yeah, that sucks.” Johann says with sympathy and then clears his throat “Do you think-” he stops and hesitates, and Naoki tilts his head curiously. He wants to ask for more details, but then he remembers that well, his insta is still rolling and maybe their muttering hasn’t been clear to the world, but that’s probably not a moment for some deep conversations. 

Johann leaves a couple minutes later and Naoki wraps the little party up. It has been fun, but the next day a competition routine starts again and he has to be well-rested for that.

* * *

He doesn’t make it, yet again. 

He smiles at the camera and waves, and walks away, feeling disappointed but at the same time kind of at peace. He tried his best, and even though it’s not enough for the second round, he’ll continue doing his best, working until better days come. That’s what him and the team are telling each other all the time and that’s what Naoki intends to do.

In their team cabin he quickly changes into casual clothes and zips his down jacket up, sighing with relief. He gets cold so easily lately it’s the best feeling to be properly covered. From his bag he digs out a vacuum flask with coffee he prepared back in the hotel and drinks a bit before putting it away and stepping out into the chilly afternoon air.

He finds Kento just as the second round is starting, and he stands next to him, ready to cheer for his teammates, and not only them. Naoki wants everyone to do good, because he knows exactly what they feel and how hard they’re all trying, so he claps eagerly, and Kento chuckles warmly next to him.

“You’re the best.” he says, wrapping one arm around Naoki’s shoulders and shaking him gently “And you did real good today.”

“Thank you.” Naoki shakes his head, leaning into his friend’s touch for a moment before resuming the clapping. 

It would be so much more fun with the loud crowd cheering before and after every jump, but at this point of the season he feels almost used to it, to the voice of the announcer echoing in between the hills, to the stillness of the snowy landscape. 

He gets lost in thought, but just for a moment, the sound of Ryoyu’s name pulling him back to reality. He crosses his gloved fingers and brings his curled hands to his chest, wishing for the best. 

Naoki can tell that Ryoyu isn’t really satisfied with the season, even though he’s trying not to show it. But once he tasted how it is, to win, to compete fot the highest prizes- there’s really nothing that can truly satisfy that hunger, even though they try to be understading to themselved and to each other, with the way preparing for the season went and how the competitions are going.

He breathes out a sigh of relief when he sees Ryoyu landing past the 130m mark, close to what he got in the first round. Naoki shifts from one foot to another, awaiting the result. It’s a good one, and Naoki just hopes that Ryoyu’s lips will be forming a smile and not a disappointed grimace.

Ryoyu walks over to them a moment later, and he seems to be pleased with the job he’s done.

“Great work!” Kento says, offering his favourite fist bump, but Naoki just hops forward to wrap Ryoyu in a short and warm hug.

“That was awesome.” he offers and Ryoyu chuckles warmly, rubbing Naoki’s shoulder before pulling back. 

“Slowly forward.” he says before standing next to Naoki and watching the last couple of jumpers doing their jumps. Halvor doesn’t win this time, which is kind of a surprise but also seems to be sending a signal to the rest of the field that he isn’t unbeatable, and that everything is still an open case.

“I will be back in a moment.” Ryoyu sighs, reaching to grab his skis, top ten finish earning him an extra technical control. Naoki’s instinct is to turn around and watch him walk away, but he stops himself just before he moves, not wanting to look awkward or for Kento to notice. 

So he stays right where he is and starts chatting with Junshiro, Keiichi and Yukiya who have just approached them, wearing their hats and jackets. They start sharing comments and observations about their jumps and the competition in general, and Naoki is trying to focus, but he can’t, his mind running to that innocent joke Ryoyu pulled on him a few days earlier. He knew almost instantly that he wasn’t being serious, but somehow the image still stayed with him- not Ryoyu with his sister, but with someone, anyone, and the picture makes Naoki feel so uneasy he’s grateful that his default expression is a smile.

“Where is he, I’m dying of hunger.” Junshiro mumbles, looking around for his younger brother, and he lets out a loud huff, raising his arm to wave “Of course, that’s the best time for the chats for him, I swear-”

Everyone looks somewhere past Naoki, so he takes it’s okay to turn around as well. Ryoyu is standing a couple metres away, talking animatedly with someone in a team Norway jacket, both of them gesticulating wildly and clearly having a lot to say. There’s nothing unusual about that scene, everyone talking with each other all the time, but his heart pangs, the same way as when Ryoyu joked about asking Anju out. But he doesn’t have time to think of it too much, beacuse then Ryoyu and his partner in conversation shake their gloved hands. Then Ryoyu starts walking their way and the guy turns a little, just enough for Naoki to recognize Daniel’s profile. He doesn’t make anything out of it at first and he’s just about to focus on his teammates again, when he sees Daniel turning around, looking at Ryoyu. Naoki can’t see his eyes clearly, but something in Daniel’s posture makes his stomach clench for some still unknown reason.

“Finally!” Junshiro whines loudly, his voice making Naoki spin around “I could eat a horse, let’s go!” he orders and they all follow hism dutifully, respecting the fact that he’s the oldest one among them now.

Naoki walks as well, but he doesn’t really think about how his legs move and where exactly he’s going, feeling weirdly caught up in the exchange he has seen a moment before.

“Hey.” he hears next to him suddenly, someone bumping his shoulder lightly, and he turns his head to look at Yukiya, who’s eyes are tired and sympathetic “You’re okay?”

“Yeah.” Naoki nods instantly, smiling even though his friend can’t really see it “It was a long day.”

“It was.” Yukiya sighs, shaking his head slightly, and Naoki can see that he’s disappointed about his result as well, one single point not satisfying to him at all. 

So Naoki does what any good friend would. He wraps his arm around Yukiya’s shoulders and shakes him lightly, like Kento did with him earlier, the gesture friendly and full of fondness. 

“Next time, right?”

In the end, sometimes the best thing they can do is to wait. And hope.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!


End file.
